I've got your back
by AmandaRosgaard
Summary: Riley, Maya, Lucas and Farkle are going on a school trip to the woods, what could possibly go wrong? A story about friendship through even the toughest of times.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey people reading this. So this is my first fanfic ever so bear that in mind while reading. I hope you guys enjoy this story. It actually came to me in a dream and finally I decided to write it down. So please enjoy, review and tell your friends (or enemies, I don't judge)**

 **btw: They are all in ninth grade and my english might not be the best since I'm danish; but I try.'**

 **Okay, now you may read**

"I'm exited! Aren't you exited, Maya? I'm so exited!", Riley was bubbling with excitement over the school trip. They were going on a survival trip with the class for 24 hours in the woods and she was in a group with her three best friends. The trip couldn't be any better. This was Riley's chance to show her parents that she could survive without them (well at least for 24 hours).

"Yes I'm exited. Now calm down before you use all your energy. This is not just gonna be a walk in the park Riley.", Maya answered in her usual calm voice. Maya was also looking forward to the trip but she knew that it would be difficult; especially because she had to make sure Riley didn't get hurt or tried to make friends with a bear.

It was early summer so they were lucky with the weather. They had to leave the city and all their belongings; except for some extra clothes. The teachers would give them two bags per group with some food, a lighter, blankets and emergency phones.

"Okay class, we are here. When you get outside of the bus please find your groups and wait.", said one of the teachers.

"Yyyyyyyaaaaaayyyy!", Riley said in her enthusiastic voice. Yes, this was truly going to be the greatest trip ever.

Riley and Maya walked out of the bus and went over to Farkle and Lucas. Yes, just a group of best friends going on a trip together, Riley thought happily to herself.

A teacher walked over to the group and handed them two big bags with the equipment for the trip in. "Now you are only gonna have two bags so before you go, make sure that you have put your clothes in the bags.", the teacher said and handed a bag to Lucas and the other one to Maya. "Hey how come Lucas and Maya get the bags. I'm strong enough to carry a bag.", Farkle told the teacher, who just gave a quick glance at Farkle before moving on to the next group.

"So what do we do now?", Farkle asked the group.

"We wait until the teachers tells us where to go.", Lucas answered back. Lucas was also really exited for this trip. He always went camping with his friends in Texas and he was more than happy to finally be able to share this with his new friends.

After some time all groups were settled and ready to go. The teachers showed each groups which way to go and gave them all a map to follow.

"So how far do we have to walk before making camp for tonight?", Maya asked everyone.

"Maya, we have only walked for around 3 hours. We need to walk for at least one more hour.", Lucas answered with a grin. He knew that his city friends weren't used to this but for him there was nothing better than walking for hours outside until finding the perfect spot for camping and of course the camp fire. Sometimes he really missed Texas.

"Mayaaa! I have s spider in my hair. Help me!", Lucas heard Riley scream. He laughed at his friends. He did really miss Texas but he was really happy to have found these city friends.

The group walked for an hour until they reached a small cliff with a river beneath it.

"Okay guys, I think we should take a little rest before continuing.", Lucas said to his friends.

Riley was dancing around and making flower crowns for everyone while Farkle sat down besides his best friend Lucas.

Maya dropped her bag and went over to the cliff and looked down. A trace of fear was shown on her face while she looked down at the river. "Do we have to cross here?", Maya asked, while looking at the three ropes which would function as a bridge.

"What's wrong Maya? Where else should we cross?", Farkle said to Maya. Maya looked away and didn't know what to answer, so she just looked down. Riley came to her side and looked at her confused.

"What's wrong Maya?", Riley asked sweetly to her best friend.

"Nothing. I just don't think that it's safe. That's all.", Maya quickly replied.

"C'mon Shortstacks, you're not afraid to cross a tiny river are you?", Lucas said jokingly.

"I'm not afraid Sundance! As I said, I just don't think that those ropes over there makes a stable bridge.", Maya snapped back.

"Nothing will go wrong. We will cross the river safely, all of us.", Farkle said with a smile.

This was the first time Farkle had ever been on a trip to the woods and he had been looking forward to it for weeks. It all seemed so easy; just a hike with his best friends. Yes, Farkle didnøt think anything could go wrong cause they had each other and he would never allow anyone or anything to hurt his friends. This was something Farkle had shown on multiple occasions. As they all got older more guys kept asking Riley and/or Maya out and when it was someone that they weren't interested in, Farkle would stand up for them. He was their Canada, always there when they needed him even though they didn't always notice.

Riley walked over to Lucas and Farkle and gave them a flower crown she had made while walking. Riley looked over at the river and the ropes. Maybe Maya was right about the ropes not being safe enough. Yes, Riley did want to show her parents that she had become more independent but she also wanted to come home safe. If she came back hurt she knew for sure that they would never allow her to leave the city again.

"Are you guys sure that they are safe enough? I don't want anyone to get hurt. Maybe Maya is right, we could find somewhere else to cross.", Riley said to Lucas and Farkle. Even though she was sure that if something were to go wrong, they would help each other, she couldn't help but be worried. Maya did look a bit scared before and that was not something that happened often.

"No it would take forever. This is the fastest way to cross and they wouldn't be here if they weren't safe enough.", Lucas answered.

"Lucas is right Riley. I think we should get moving. We also need to find a camping place soon, so let's just cross now.", Farkle said while getting up.

"Fine...", Maya said and picked up the bag.

It wasn't because she was scared of the ropes not being safe enough. Maya was scared of falling down. Not because the cliff was that high but because if she fell, she would end up in the water. Maya had never learned to swim so water had always been a fear of hers. But she put up her 'I'm not scared of anything' face and walked towards the ropes with the rest of the gang.

"Okay, I'll go first, just to make sure that the ropes are stable.", Lucas said while starting to cross the river.

It didn't take long for the rest to follow and soon they were all over the river. Maya kept walking with a straight face, not looking down. She knew if she looked down then she wouldn't be able to keep going. So she kept looking at Riley's head, making sure that Riley was doing okay. She promised Cory and Topnaga that she would look after Riley. Not because Riley couldn't take care of herself but she was... well she was Riley, and Maya would make sure that nothing bad would happen to Riley while they were on this trip.

Suddenly Maya felt her foot slip and panic started to overwhelm her and she lost her balance. Screaming for help, Maya was hanging in the ropes trying her best not to let go while her friends rushed as fast as they could to help her before she would fall.

Suddenly one of her hands lost its grip and she now found herself holding on to her life with only one hand. Yes, nothing could go wrong on this trip...

 **So there we have it, chapter one. I know it isn't that long but this is only the start and it sure ended with a cliffhanger *badum tss***

 **Okay I have a terrible sense of humor but please review and tell me if you like it so far.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, I just wanna thank you all for reading this story and reviewing and following etc. it means a lot! I swear every time I got a mail I literally jumped with happiness. I just started this yesterday and I was expecting much but you guys makes me wanna continue the story even though I'm in my exams weeks. So to thank you all I now give you... chapter 2.**

Right now Maya hated gravity. It was dragging her down and she didn't know how much longer she would be able to hold on. It didn't make it easier for Maya that she carried a heavy bag on her back. While she was hanging there, screaming for help, the only thing she could think about was what would happen to Riley, if she didn't make it. Maya knew that Riley was becoming more independent but she still needed some guidance and Maya knew that Riley would loose what made her so special; her pureness. Yes, Riley did know that sometimes you have to say goodbye but that didn't mean that she would handle it well. Riley was so innocent and still believed that unicorns did exist and they would all live happily ever after and Maya was not ready to leave the world now because Riley still needed her. But it was becoming harder to keep the grip and even though Maya tried to grab on with her second hand gravity kept pulling her down.

Riley froze. Everything had seemed to go so well and suddenly she found herself starring at her best friend dangling from a rope and the worst part was that Riley didn't know what to do. She could hear Farkle and Lucas scream for Maya to hold on and she could also hear that she was doing the same thing but she just couldn't move. She was frozen. It wasn't because Riley had never helped Maya but it was never something about life and death. Usually it was getting over a crush and when it was something like that, Riley knew what to do since they had both been through crushes. But now it was different. This wasn't something they had ever tried before and Riley had no idea what to do. It wasn't because the cliff was very high but there could be sharp rocks in the water. When Maya screamed for help again Riley suddenly realized that this was not the time to freeze, her best friend needed her and she was the only one who could get to her.

Riley walked as fast and steady as she could to get to Maya and all Lucas and Farkle could do was to look at what was happening. It annoyed both of them that they couldn't get to Maya but there was only one rope to walk on and if they tried to get past Riley the chance of Maya falling was big. So they could just stand there and hope for the best. Hoping that Riley could get to Maya.

Farkle could see that Lucas get more and more tense as Riley got closer and closer to Maya. Lucas carred a lot about his friends and Farkle knew that. After Lucas' secret came out some years ago he started to show his more tense side. Lucas had only hit a guy once since he started at John Quincy Adam's School and that was when a guy kept provoking Riley and Maya. Farkle of course also tried to help his two friends but truth be told, Lucas was way scarier than Farkle, even though Farkle had grown a lot and even had some muscles now. After the fight between Lucas and the guy, Farkle and Lucas started to go to the gym together and Farkle really enjoyed it. Lucas had taught him a lot and Farkle taught Lucas to control his anger better. But Farkle still knew that Lucas hated when he couldn't help his friends and especially when it was something where they could get really hurt. Sadly all they could do was wait and hope for the best.

Riley finally made it all the way to Maya, who was now really struggling to hang on.

"Grab my hand Maya!", Riley said with fear in her voice, while holding on with one hand to a rope and the other hand reaching for Maya. Maya was trying her best to reach Riley's hand but it wasn't easy. Riley could feel Maya's hand reach hers but before Riley could get a better grip, Maya's hand slipped and Riley could now do nothing but scream and stare as her best friend fell down in the cold river. Time froze when Lucas and Farkle saw Maya falling into the cold river and the only sound that could be heard was the screaming.

"Lucas... What are we gonna do..?", Farkle asked in a silent voice but he didn't get an answer before Lucas had thrown the bag he was carrying on the ground and without as much as blinking, Lucas jumped into the water.

Lucas didn't think. He just knew that he couldn't stand and do nothing therefore he jumped in. he was immediately hit by the chillness of the water but that didn't stop him. He could hear Farkle and Riley yell his name but he just needed to find Maya. He knew how heavy the bag was and even the best swimmer would get dragged down by it. There was no time to waste.

Maya could feel herself falling and it was a terrible feeling. There was nothing she could do and the lose of control was something she hated. She felt the cold water and tried her best to get to the surface but the bag kept dragging her down. The current in the water was stronger than it seemed and Maya felt herself being dragged around in the water not being able to get some air. She suddenly felt pain on her side but she didn't have time for checking what she had hit. Everything was a mess and she had a hard time finding out which way was up and which way was down. After she had struggled with the bag, she finally got it off and felt lighter than before. Finally she could finally see the surface and get some long needed air.

"There she is!", Maya heard Riley scream with happiness in her voice.

But it didn't take long for Maya to sink again. Maya regretted not taking swimming lessons now. She felt a burn in her lungs, they were screaming for air and she began to feel dizzy. She felt a jolt of pain in her foot but she didn't care any more. The only thing that mattered for her was to get some long needed air. Maya didn't know how much longer she could stay awake and she felt her vision darken and an arm grabbing her waist.

Lucas swam as fast as he could. He saw Maya's head break the surface but also saw her disappearing as fast as she had appeared. Lucas dived under the water and searched for Maya but it was difficult since the current was strong. Every time he went up for air, he also checked to make sure that Farkle nor Riley had jumped after him. He knew that he wouldn't be able to get them all out of the water and was thankful that they stayed at the shore. Lucas dived again and finally saw Maya sinking to the bottom. Instead of going up after air, he started to swim after her. He couldn't lose sight of her. After what seemed like forever, he finally got to her and grabbed her waist with one arm while using the other arm to swim to the surface.

Farkle and Riley were scared. When they saw Maya breaking the surface they felt themselves relaxing but quickly they became tense again, when they lost sight of her. Their only hope was for Lucas to find her and bring her back to them. Riley was close to jumping into the river but Farkle stopped her.

"Don't jump in Riley. Lucas got this.", Farkle said to Riley, trying to sound calm.

"We have to do something. What if she drowns?! We can't just do nothing when our friends' lives are in danger.", Riley yelled back, obliviously scared and Farkle didn't judge her for that. But Farkle knew that jumping into the river would only make the situation worse. There was no way that they would be able to get to Maya in time and they would only distract Lucas by doing so. No, they had to stay at the shore and hope for the best.

"I know that this is dangerous but jumping in would just make everything worse. Trust me. I know you wanna save Maya, I want to as well. But there is nothing we can do now Riley. We can only hope that Lucas finds her in time. Okay?", Farkle said even calmer than before and locked eyes with Riley. This seemed to calm Riley down a bit since she stopped struggling.

"kay..", Riley whispered.

This was the worst situation Riley had ever been in. Her best friend needed her and there was nothing she could do about it and now she had also lost sight of Lucas. There was only one thought that kept running through her mind; how did things get so bad?

"Riley, look!", Farkle yelled to Riley, who was standing with a blank expression starring at the ground.

"Riley! They made it!", Farkle tried again and this made Riley react.

She looked at the river and sure enough, there they were. Lucas and Maya.

Lucas seemed to be struggling and looked really tired and exhausted. But Maya was there with him and that was all that mattered. However, Maya didn't seem to be awake and that scared Riley. Riley and Farkle rushed to the nearest shore luckily the side they were on was even lower than the other side and finding a shore wasn't that difficult.

"Lucas! Over here!", Farkle and Riley yelled and luckily that caught Lucas' attention.

Lucas swam as fast as he could and knowing that he had Maya in his arm was relieving. He just had to get to the shore as fast as he could. The water was cold and now Lucas started to really feel how cold it actually was. Sure it was early summer but the water still wasn't warmed up a lot. Lucas was shivering and he could only imagine how cold Maya was. But she was with him and that was all that mattered.

Lucas felt relieved once again when his feet finally found stable ground and he grabbed Maya's still body and carried her towards Farkle and Riley. When they finally made the shore he lay Maya gently on her side and collapsed on the ground. He was exhausted but at least they were out of the water.

Riley and Farkle rushed to their friends aid. Lucas seemed fine he was just really exhausted but who could blame him for that. Suddenly they heard some gasping and Maya rolled over to spit out some of the water she had inhaled. Farkle, Lucas and Riley all felt relieved to hear their friend coughing, knowing that she would be okay.

"Maya... Are you okay?", Lucas gently asked his friend.

Maya continued to cough out water and turned her head to look at Lucas. Riley sat next to Maya and patted her back. Just being thankful that she didn't lose her best friend.

"I've been better.", Maya said jokingly, trying to lift the mood.

Lucas responded with a smile.

"Thanks for saving my life, Ranger Rick.", Maya said softly.

"Hey don't worry about it. I've got your back, always.", Lucas replied with a grin on his face.

"So what now? Should we call for help?", Farkle asked his friends.

"Good idea Farkle.", Riley responded.

Lucas searched his pockets and found one of their emergency phones soaking wet and dead.

"Well... This one doesn't work any more. Maya where did you put the emergency phone you got?", Lucas asked, feeling annoyed that the phone was dead. He regret not emptying his pockets before jumping in the river but that was the last thought he had when the accident happened.

"In the bag... Which I lost in the river...", Maya replied with an annoyance in her voice.

"Well what do we then do? We have no phones and I don't know where we are..", Riley said, looking resignedly. This day just kept getting better, she thought sarcastically.

"We are losing daylight, so I say we find make a bonfire and camp here for the night. I think we all need to rest after today's event.", Farkle said, "Luckily we still have one bag and I think the most important thing is to get you two warm.", he continued while looking at Maya and Lucas and they all agreed. There was nothing else they could do at the moment and if one of them got sick it would just make everything worse.

 **Well guys that was it for chapter dos. But don't worry, I will start to work on chapter three after my exam tomorrow morning. I'm glad you like it so far! I don't know how long I plan for this story to be but my goal is to get at least 5+ chapters.**

 **Please review and all the other stuff – that makes me happy.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, I know it's been some days since the last update but I just had to finish an important assignment for school. Before moving on to chapter 3, I would just like to thank all of you for your nice reviews and suggestions. Some of you wants to know if I have any particular ships in mind for this story and now you'll get the answer: I didn't put any particular ship on this one since I feel like if I write that there is focus on a certain pairing some might not want to read this at all and. I am aware that people decide whether they want to read this or not but hear me out first. This story's focus is not romance, however, it is friendship and how the group bonds. There will be some pointing to different pairings but this is up to the reader if they see it as romance or just friends bonding, hope you'll understand. So now… I present you chapter 3, enjoy (hopefully you will):**

It didn't take long for the group of friends to find a camping spot and make a small bonfire.

"Okay guys. I think we should see what we have in the bag. Maybe there's some food in there", Riley said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group of friends. "Or some blankets.", she continued while looking at her two friends who were shivering. The water in the river was cold and it didn't come as a surprise that Maya and Lucas were now freezing.

Farkle went over to their remaining bag and searched for something that they could use.

"Well we have some of our spare clothes in this bag but it's only me and Lucas' clothes.", Farkle said and continued his searching. "And look! I found a blanket.", he said optimistic.

Maya was relieved to see that they at least had a blanket. She had never been this cold in her entire life and sitting in soaking wet clothes didn't make it any better. All she wanted right now was to get home and take a steaming hot shower. She was annoyed at herself to fall into that stupid river and not only did she loose the bag with Riley and hers clothes, the emergency phone, and probably more blankets, into the river and what annoyed her even more was that she now was the cause of her friend being as cold as her. Her friends tried to make everything better and Maya just couldn't get herself to tell them that she hurt herself in the river. No, this was something she could ignore. Well at least for now.

"Well it looks like you have to borrow some of our clothes, Maya.", Farkle told Maya, breaking her thought-bubble.

"Alright…", Maya answered back and walked over to the bag, trying to hide her limp. Her foot was aching so bad but she just couldn't tell them, especially Riley; she would start to mother Maya immediately, if she found out how that Maya was hurt and this was no time for that.

So Maya bit her lip hard, forcing herself to walk normally and get away from her friends so she could check how bad her foot was and to see if she had other injuries.

Maya grabbed a pair of shorts and guessed that these had to be Farkle's. They seemed to be a bit too big for her but at least they were smaller than Lucas'. She also grabbed a large sweatshirt; this she knew for sure was Lucas', it even had a 'Texas Rules' sign on it. Maya couldn't help but smile at this.

"I'll just go change then. I'll be back in a few.", Maya said and quickly walked away from the camp side.

Farkle had found two cans of soup and a spoon in the bag and was now heating up the cans. It wasn't much for the four of them but at least it was better than nothing, Farkle thought.

"Dinner should be ready soon guys. Lucas you should go change to some dry clothes as well before dinner.", Farkle said, looking at his best friend, who was still shivering.

"Yeah, I'll go do that now.", Lucas replied and took what was left of his clothes and went in the opposite direction than Maya went. He couldn't wait to get out of the wet clothes, which was sticking to his body in a very unpleasant way. It didn't take him long to change and get back to the small bonfire.

"Here Lucas.", Riley said, while handing Lucas the blanket. "You're still shivering. I figured you could use it.", Riley continued with a sweet smile on her face. She hated seeing her friends being hurt or uncomfortable so she would help in every way possible.

"Thanks Riley.", Lucas answered, while grabbing the blanket handed to him, and gave her a warm smile. Even though he was freezing, he couldn't help but still liking this; sitting in front of a bonfire with his friends and eating soup from a can. Even though this day had a down side to it, he couldn't help but feel happy that they were all together. Him, Farkle, Riley, Ma..

"Hey where's Maya? She left before I did, shouldn't she be back by now?", Lucas' question raised awareness in the group and they all started to look confused.

"I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she just doesn't want us to see her in you guys' clothes.", Riley stated, at least she hoped that this was the truth, however, she couldn't help but feel worried. It was taking Maya a long time to change.

The first thing Maya did was to check her right root and she immediately understood why it hurt to walk on it. Her foot was bruised and swollen and she was pretty sure that her ankle was sprained. Great.., she thought sarcastically. This was just what she needed. She was debating whether to tell her friends this or not but she decided to wait. Right now she just had to get warm. She quickly changed into the shorts she had borrowed from Farkle and noticed that both of her legs were full of bruises. This day just keeps getting better, she said sarcastically to herself while taking of her wet shirt. While she was trying to get it over her head, she felt a stinging pain on her left side. When she after some struggling got the shirt of, she looked at her left side to find the cause of the stinging pain.

"Even better!", Maya said with a pained expression.

Her left side had a long cut on it, starting from the ribs and all the way to her hips, bleeding a bit. She remembered hitting her side on something sharp but she didn't know that it gave her a cut and she was confused over the fact that she hadn't noticed the blood before. Maya picked up the shirt she had just been wearing and looked at it. The fabric had been teared open on the left side and there was some blood on it as well. How come none of them had noticed this, she thought to herself, however, she was glad that her friends hadn't seen it. Riley would freak out if she saw this. No, this was defiantly something she had to keep for herself. Besides, it's just a cut and it wasn't because it was that deep. Maya picked up Lucas' sweatshirt, laughed again over the fact that Ranger Rick actually had a shirt with a 'Texas Rules' sign on it, put it on, and started to limp back to their little camp. Her friends was probably already freaking out about her taking this long. As she neared the camp side, she started to walk normally again, biting her lip to make it easier to hide the pain.

"Okay, I'm going to look for her now. Maybe she fell into the river again.", Riley suddenly said. They had been waiting for Maya to return for way too long and Riley was now getting very anxious.

"Riley, I doubt she fell into the river again. She walked in the opposite direction… away from the river.", Lucas said with a smile.

"Well.. maybe… Maybe she's stuck somewhere and can't get free. We've go to help her!", Riley continued, worrying about her best friend's life.

"Or maybe she's right here.", Maya said while laughing and went over to Riley. "I'm fine Riley, I didn't get stuck somewhere and I defiantly didn't fall into the river again.", Maya continued laughing. Riley tended to worry too much sometimes but that was just another reason why Maya adored her.

"What was taking you so long? The food is getting cold.", Farkle said, clearly also worried about his friend.

"I didn't mean to make you all worry so much. It just took some time to get the wet, sticky clothes off and then I couldn't help but just stand there and laugh about Lucas' sweatshirt, that's all.", Maya said while pointing to the sweatshirt she was wearing, which was way too big for her.

"Hey what's wrong with my shirt?", Lucas said with a laugh. He knew that she would make fun of this shirt for a long time now but he knew that it was just a part of their friendship. They would tease each other but no hard feelings, not after what happened in 8th grade, where Lucas accidently discovered Maya's insecurity about her height.

They all went to sit around their small bonfire, ready to finally get something to eat. Lucas noticed that Maya was still shivering and went over to give her the blanket.

"What's this for?", Maya said surprised, while taking the blanket that was handed to her.

"I just figured that you might still be a bit cold.", Lucas replied and went back to his spot next to Farkle.

Maya didn't even have to thank him, Lucas knew she was grateful. He could see it on her face and Maya could see that Lucas knew.

Maya moved closer to Riley and both of them now shared the blanket.

"Okay so we only have two cans of soup and one spoon, so we have to share, taking turns to eat?", Riley broke the silence that had yet again fallen upon the small group of friends.

They all nodded and soon they found themselves taking a spoonful of soup and giving the can of soup and the spoon to the next person.

Suddenly Riley started to laugh.

"What's so funny Riley?", Farkle asked her, half laughing and half concerned that his friend had gone crazy. Riley didn't answer but just continued to laugh.

"Did you get bit by a spider or something? You're acting all crazy.", Farkle continued, now even more concerned than before.

"Spit it Riles. What's so funny?", Maya asked.

"No, a spider didn't bite me… At least I don't think so…", Riley answered.

"Then what is it you're laughing about? You're honestly freaking me a bit out..", Lucas said while giving Riley a concerned look.

"It's just that… This whole situation seems so messed up and I don't know, I just can't help but laugh a bit about it.", Riley replied. She didn't really know herself why she was laughing, she just really couldn't help it. This day had started so good and then the whole river episode happened, and now here they were. Sitting in a circle around a small bonfire, sharing two cans of soup with only one spoon.

"I guess it's just my way of handling today's events. I nearly lost two of my three best friends today…", Riley said, her voice started to crack when she mentioned almost losing her friends.

"Aww Riles. You worry too much. I'm okay, Lucas is alright. We are all doing fine. Yes things could have ended terrible but it didn't.", Maya told Riley, while putting her one arm around her.

Silence yet again fell upon the group. Today's events suddenly came rambling down and this was now that they all really just realized how bad things could have ended and how lucky they actually were to sit there, all of them.

"We were really lucky today, weren't we?", Lucas broke the silence and they all nodded.

"I don't know what I would do without you guys.", Farkle stated and all of them made an 'awwww' sound.

"Look at us going all cheesy. I love you guys.", Maya said sincerely. She felt lucky having friends like them.

"We love you too.", Farkle, Riley and Lucas all responded. They all continued to eat the soup until both of the cans were empty.

"So what's the plan for tomorrow?", Riley asked her friends.

"I guess we'll try to get out of the woods. I don't know. We have no map and still no phones, so we are on our own but I doubt that we are that far from civilization.", Lucas responded after some time.

They didn't know where to go but they couldn't just sit and wait for maybe to be found, no they had to at least try to get out from the woods.

It was now dark and the only one who was still awake was Maya. She sat close to the bonfire, making sure it was still lit, at least until she felt tired. She looked over at her friends. They were all fast asleep on the ground. At one point during the night, Maya had walked over to Lucas and given him back the blanket. Farkle and Riley used some of the spare clothes as duvets and Lucas had insisted that he didn't need a 'duvet' but during the night, Maya noticed that he had started shivering and since she wasn't going to sleep anytime soon, she gave the blanket to him.

For some reason, Maya couldn't sleep. Her foot and side was still aching and every time she tried to sleep, the pain would keep her awake. At least when she was awake, she could think of something else.

Maya was looking up at the night sky, which was something she had always loved to look at, when she felt something on her shoulders, which turned out to be the blanket.

"You should get some sleep, you know.", a voice said, which startled Maya. She turned around and saw Lucas standing behind her.

"Lucas.. Why are you awake? I thought you were asleep.", Maya said, turning her head back to the small bonfire, which flames was becoming smaller.

"Funny thing. I woke up because suddenly I wasn't feeling that cold anymore and then I saw you up.", Lucas replied with a grin on his face. He went over next to Maya.

"So why are you still up?", he asked while yawning.

"I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I get flashbacks from my trip in the river.", Maya answered. It was true but she just kept the other reason to herself. "And why did you give me this?", she asked, while pointing to the blanket.

"You looked like you could use it.", Lucas replied with a smile on his face.

"Well same goes for you..", Maya said and handed him the blanket.

"Well then I guess we'll just have to share it.", Lucas said, handing her one side of the blanket. Maya just glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well obviously we could both use the blanket and don't worry, I don't bite.", Lucas said jokingly.

"Well I do.", Maya said teasingly back. Lucas just grinned and once again tried to hand her one side of the blanket, this time she accepted it.

"So what were you looking at before I came? And don't say it was nothing 'cause I know you looked at something.", Lucas suddenly said.

"I was looking at the night sky. I somehow find that very relaxing.", Maya answered. "When I was younger and upset over something, I would always spend the night looking at the stars. I guess some things just turns into a habit.", she continued, once again looking at the sky.

"Stargazing is actually one of my favourite things to do.", Lucas said, who now also stared at the stars.

"Really?", Maya asked, turning her glance from the sky to Lucas, who smiled at her and nodded.

This was the first time they had ever just sat two of them and just talked and they both felt that they got closer by this. They spend the most of the night just stargazing and talking about everything and nothing. If one good thing had happened on this trip, then it was that they were all getting closer. Now they only needed to get back to the city. That shouldn't be that difficult, right?

 **And there you have it, chapter 3. Hope you guys enjoyed it.** **Please review and all the other stuff** **. That makes me happy and a happy me give you guys more chapters faster.**

 **Jeg elsker jer, I gør mig glad (meaning I love you guys, you make me happy, in danish).**


	4. Chapter 4

**Look! A new chapter for you guys. I know I say this every time but thank you so much for the lovely reviews and suggestions. When you guys review this story, I just wanna write faster to give you guys the next chapter. So without further ado… Chapter vire:**

"Are you sure we are going the right way?", Riley asked for the fifth time in less than an hour.

"No, I'm not sure. I have no idea where we are but we have to keep moving.", Lucas answered back, trying to keep his spirit high.

"Why can't we just sit and wait for someone to find us?", Riley continued, tired of walking for hours. She just wanted to get home and sleep in her own bed. She had slept horribly, her hair was a mess and all the bugs were starting to annoy her a lot.

"Riley… we've went through this multiple of times already. We can't just wait for someone to find us because that might take even longer than actually trying to find our way back. Don't you wanna get home?", Lucas asked.

Riley nodded. She understood why they were walking but they had been walking for at least two hours straight and her feet were starting to ache. She just wanted a small break and by the looks of it, Maya seemed like she could use a break as well. Riley glanced at her best friend, who looked even more tired than she did.

Maya tried her best to keep up with her friends but it was getting harder and harder for her to keep up the mask. Her lip was starting to bleed, since she had bit it too hard and all she wished for was a short break but she knew they had to keep moving.

Maya noticed that Riley kept glancing at her but Maya didn't want to worry her friend even more so instead, Maya kept looking anywhere but at Riley.

Riley walked up to Farkle, who was a few feet in front of her.

"Have you noticed that Maya has been acting weird lately?", Riley whispered to Farkle.

"What do you mean Riley?", Farkle asked confused. He hadn't really noticed anything weird about Maya's behaviour. Yes, she wasn't walking as fast as she used to and she wasn't really talking to anyone but Farkle thought that it was just Maya's way of dealing with the situation.

"Something just feels a bit off about her…", Riley continued, she was clearly worried about her friend.

"I think you're worrying too much Riles. She's probably just tired. I woke up at one point during the night and she was still awake. I mean, you look tired and you've slept all through the night", Farkle replied.

"You're probably right.", Riley answered, still not convinced. No, there was something off about Maya but she just didn't know what it was. Every time she tried to talk to Maya, she looked so lost in thought or said that she was fine and that Riley shouldn't worry but Riley just couldn't help it. She was worried about her friend and she wished that Maya would just open up to her.

Lucas looked back at his group of friends. They all looked tired. Maybe Riley was right, maybe they should've just stayed at the camp side and wait. No, Lucas thought, doing nothing would not help them at all. Maybe they all just needed to rest for a while; they had been walking for hours anyway.

"Okay, anyone who's up for resting a bit?", Lucas asked his friends.

"YES!", they all replied with a relived yell and immediately sat down on the ground.

"So do we have any idea on how much we have to walk before we are out of this place?", Maya asked. Her sprained ankle started aching just by the thought of continuing and every time she moved, the cut on her side kept complaining. Maya was starting to feel a bit weird or sick, she didn't even know herself. It was probably just because of her lack of sleep and not enough food, she thought.

"Yeah, when will we get out of this place? Tonight? Tomorrow? Next week? In a year?", Farkle asked. He was getting real tired of the woods. It was dirty, there was no computers or phones, and the ground was not very comfortable to sleep on. He would rather go on a date with Smackle than spending another night on the ground.

"I don't know..", Lucas answered silently, it almost came out as a whisper. He started to look around and felt relive, when he finally got an idea.

"I could climb that tree", Lucas pointed at a big tree, probably the tallest in the area.

"Lucas, how can climbing a tree help us getting out of the woods?", Riley asked confused.

"If I climb that tree, I might be able to see a road or something and then we will know in which direction we have to walk in.", Lucas said, eyes still on the tree, hoping that his friends understood his plan.

"Ohhh. Good idea Lucas", Riley said in her usual enthusiastic voice, looking like a little kid on Christmas morning.

Lucas smiled at Riley and walked over to the tree. He knew how to climb trees, he used to do it a lot when he was younger but he hadn't climbed a tree for years and this one was quite tall.

As Lucas started to climb the tree, he began to wonder if this would actually help. Maybe the only thing he would be able to see is trees. No, he couldn't lose hope this fast; especially since he hadn't even gotten to the top yet.

Maya looked at Lucas climbing the tree. He reminded her of a monkey since he climbed it so fast. Her side started to hurt again and yet again, she felt a bit sick or weird or whatever it was. So she decided to look at Farkle and Riley, who was cheering on Lucas. Yes, she just had to think of anything else than her injuries; that usually helped.

Maya looked at Farkle. He had grown a lot over the last year and not only in height. He was starting to get muscles after have been going to the gym with Lucas. Yet, Maya still looked at him as the little bird she had to protect. Nothing would ever change that, even though he had stood up for her and Riley, when some guys were trying to hit on them. No, was a bird to her and hopefully that would never change.

"GO LUCAS! You're almost there!", Maya heard Riley cheering. Riley with her always enthusiastic, happy-go-lucky attitude and innocent self. Riley was like a small puppy. She was always happy and even when Maya wanted to be annoyed at her, she just couldn't. Riley was just someone everyone loved, just like puppies. Maya still wished for Riley to keep her innocent self, even though she was getting a bit more rebellious. That was Maya's fault. It began after Maya let Riley sneak out with her to visit the college party at NYU. It wasn't that big of a deal though. It was just smaller things like staying up later without her parents knowing and occasionally sneaking out once a month to something that had now become a tradition for the group of friends; once a month, they would all meet up at the park and spend most of the night there, talking and eating junk food. Maya liked that tradition, even though they would always end up being dead-tired in school the next day. She didn't remember how it had stared but she hoped that it would never stop.

Lucas finally made it to the top and luckily he could see more than just trees. He had picked the perfect tree, he thought to himself.

"Can you see anything, Lucas?", Farkle yelled from the ground.

"I can see a road!", Lucas yelled back. "I'm coming down now.", Lucas continued and started to climb down to his friends again.

Lucas was more than thankful that he actually could see a road and it wasn't even that far away.

When Lucas made it to the ground he was greeted a very happy Farkle and Riley. Lucas wondered where Maya was but found her sitting exactly where she was before he started to climb; she hadn't moved a bit and she looked very distant.

"So how far?", Farkle asked.

"Well if we keep moving in the same speed we were before, we should be able to reach it by sunset.", Lucas answered with a big smile.

"Sunset?! But it isn't even noon yet. Do you really expect us to walk for that many hours?", Riley asked, obviously shocked about the fact that the road was many hours away.

"Well if you wanna sleep in your own bed tonight, then yes.", Lucas answered.

"Okay then, let's go. If we make it to the road around sunset then there's a good chance that I'll be able to watch the newest episode of my show tonight.", Farkle said and began to walk.

"You coming Maya?", Riley asked her best friend, who was still sitting in the same spot as before.

"Huh?", Maya said confused. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't even noticed that Lucas were on the ground again.

"I asked if you're coming?", Riley repeated.

"Oh yeah.", Maya quickly replied and started to get up. She quietly hissed in pain when her foot touched the ground and her side was protesting against the moving but like before, Maya ignored it and followed her friends.

*Some hours later*

"All I'm saying is that I don't get why all women suddenly gets a craving for chocolate or ice cream once a month..", Maya heard Farkle saying.

Lucas didn't respond to Farkle but just put his arm around his shoulder and laughed a bit.

Riley kept glancing at Maya. She was now 100 % sure that something was off about Maya. She looked paler than before and she wasn't talking at all. Riley also noticed that every once in a while Maya would bite her lip hard and Maya obviously looked like something was bothering her.

"Okay enough. Rest time everybody!", Riley stopped and yelled to all of her friends. She wanted an explanation and she wanted one now.

"Why are we stopping?", Lucas asked. "Do you have to pee again, Riley?, he asked with a slight annoyance in his voice. That girl really had a small bladder.

"No I don't have to pee… well okay maybe I have to but that's not the reason we are stopping this time.", Riley said with determination in her voice.

Lucas and Farkle looked at each other; both of them were confused.

"Maya, what is wrong?", Riley suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?", Maya replied, confused over Riley's sudden mood change.

"Something's off about you right now and I want to know what and I want to know now.", Riley said.

Maya knew what she was referring to. She had noticed Riley's glances and she knew Riley well enough that she knew that Riley could see something was bothering Maya. Maya was wondering if she should tell her friends about her injuries but she remembered why she hadn't told them before. Maybe this was the time to tell them.

"I think I sprained my ankle in the river…", Maya said. Well they didn't have to know all of it and they didn't have to know that she wasn't feeling very well at the moment.

"Maya, you think you sprained your ankle and you didn't bother to tell us?", Lucas asked with a mix of hurt and worry.

"I didn't tell you guys because I didn't want you to worry about me.. I feel bad enough that it is my fault that we are lost. I just couldn't slow us down further.", Maya said. She was feeling guilty about the whole situation and she hated that she made it worse by being hurt.

"Let me have a look at your ankle.", Lucas said and went to check it.

"Maya you know you can always tell us stuff. It's not your fault and you shouldn't feel guilty about it.", Riley told Maya. She hated the fact that Maya was feeling so guilty that she would walk on a sprained ankle and not even tell anyone about it.

"Yes it is defiantly sprained. You shouldn't be walking on it.", Lucas said. Back in Texas he would often sprain his ankle or hand and he knew how painful it was.

"I know I shouldn't be walking on it but I wanna get home… preferably by the end of today..", Maya said and looked down at the ground. She didn't want to make eye contact with anyone. She was in a position where if she got eye contact with anyone, they would be able to see right through her and know that she was in a lot of pain, more than she let on. No, she couldn't slow them down even more. They all wanted to get home, preferably today. They had to keep going. No matter what. She wouldn't slow them down any further, that was something she promised herself.

 **And that was chapter 4. I know it was short but this was also just what I consider being a filler for an upcoming event that will happen soon; so hope it's okay.**

 **Please review and all the other stuff, you know it makes me happy**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm glad that you guys enjoy my story. Your reviews just makes my day and I really need that in this week. I'm in my last exams week and it's really stressful and there's so many exams but I manage to keep updating the story because your lovely reviews makes me so happy and helps the stress go away – so THANK YOU for being awesome and therefore you'll get chapter cinco:**

"But Maya, you can't walk on that foot. You'll hurt yourself even more, by doing so.", Lucas said concerned. The thought of Maya being in more pain killed him and especially because she had been in pain for who knows how long and she hadn't said a word to them. He was impressed that she could keep the facade up for that long but hurt over the fact that she went through all the pain just because, she didn't want to slow them down. No, there was no way that he or Farkle and Riley would allow Maya to walk on that foot.

"Well we can't stay here. We have to keep going and besides we are not that far from the road you saw. I can handle it, it doesn't really hurt that bad. I just needed to rest it for a while and now I'm ready to go.", Maya lied. Well, it was true that it didn't hurt that bad but that was only because the cut on her side was starting to hurt more and more.

"Maya you don't have to lie to us. We know you're in a lot of pain and it's okay. You don't have to be strong right now. You know that it's okay not to be okay.", Riley said. She knew Maya well enough to see that Maya just tried to be strong for them and that she would never admit to them that she was in a lot of pain but as her best friend, Riley couldn't just stand there and watch her friend in pain.

They had to figure out something because even though none of them wanted Maya to be in even more pain, Riley knew that they wouldn't be able to stop her. Maya was determined to get home by tonight and when Maya was determined about something, nothing or no one could stop her; and Riley knew this.

"I'm not lying Riles. I can handle it. I promise. Let's just keep on going. We all wanna get home by tonight and I promise when we get home, I will not walk on my foot until it's healed.", Maya tried again.

Maya now knew that it was good that she didn't tell them about the cut on her side. If they knew about it, they would never get home, Maya thought to herself.

"She does have a point guys. What if she could lean on us the rest of the way? That way we can get home and it will be less painful.", Farkle suggested. He wanted to get home but he also wanted his friend to be okay again. Farkle knew that staying in the woods would not help Maya at all, so he agreed with Maya on just keep going.

"I'm fine with that. Now let's move.", Maya said, while getting ready to walk.

"Are you sure Maya? We all wanna get home but we don't want you to hurt yourself even more…", Lucas said, while giving Maya a concerned look. "Besides, you look really pale. Are you sure that you're okay?", He continued.

"I know that you guys worry but I'm fine, okay? Staying here will not stop my ankle from being sprained.", Maya said, and once again she got ready to walk.

It was getting harder for Maya to keep her façade up. The pain was becoming really intense and she didn't feel that great either. They were going home and they were leaving now, otherwise Maya knew that she would not be able to keep her wall up and that could not happen and maybe the pain coming from her ankle would make her forget about the aching cut.

"Well if you're absolute sure…", Riley said, still not convinced.

"I am.", Maya tried to sound really optimistic and smiled to Riley.

"Fine.. Then let's get home.", Riley said and offered Maya to lean on her.

The group walked for some hours, taking shifts with helping Maya. Every once in a while, Lucas would look back at Maya and getting more worried every time he did. It was like Maya got paler for every minute. He didn't like it and he was beginning to question if Maya was as fine as she stated.

Maya tried so hard to keep up the mask, mainly because she noticed that Lucas would glance at her and give her an anxious smile. She wrongly thought that keep walking would help her forget about the aching cut but it walking just doubled the pain. Every time she moved, even the slightest, the tender cut would protest and sometimes it became so intense that Maya hissed from the pain causing more concerned looks from all of her friends and questions like: _Are you sure that you're alright?_ Or _We can rest for a while, if you need it. Do you want us to stop?_. She would always say no, even though she was screaming yes on the inside. Not only did her side hurt more by walking but somehow she had also forgot about how painful it was to walk on a sprained ankle. Yes, Maya couldn't wait for them to get home.

When it was Lucas' turn to walk with Maya, Farkle and Riley had discussions about if Maya was lying to them or not. Farkle believed that Maya might be in more pain than she led on but he just couldn't imagine that she would lie to them. Riley, however, was getting more and more anxious. She wasn't stupid and she could clearly see the pained expressions on Maya's face every once in a while. Riley was sure that Maya was lying to them, even though it hurt her to even think that her best friend would lie to her about something like that but somehow Riley just knew. Maya was hiding something from them.

Riley would have the same discussion with Lucas, when it was Farkle's turn to walk with Maya. Riley and Lucas both agreed and knowing that Lucas thought the same thing as Riley, just made her even more concerned.

"I just hate seeing her like this… why won't she just tells us or something..?", Riley whispered to Lucas.

"I don't know Riley. She is really starting to get me worried. Just look at her, she is as pale as snow.", Lucas replied and glanced at Maya.

"… and then I thought to myself; Farkle, you're a genius!...", Farkle tried to talk to Maya but she just couldn't focus on the conversation. She was so tired. No, she was exhausted. They had been walking for hours and she would sometimes catch herself in stumbling. She just wanted to close her eyes and sleep. Yes, sleeping sounded really good, Maya thought.

"Maya? Are you even listening?", Farkle asked, looking at her with a hurt expression.

"Sorry Farkle… It's just. Are we there soon?", Maya asked. She felt bad that she was ignoring Farkle but she just couldn't focus on anything.

"Good question. Hey Lucas, are we there soon?", Farkle asked Lucas. They all stopped and Farkle went up Lucas and Riley, giving Maya some space until they had to walk again. Farkle was sure that she would appreciate that and Maya smiled at him before he left her.

"I think so. My guess is that there is approximately 5 kilometres left.", Lucas said optimistic. That statement clearly lifted everyone's spirit.

"I can walk with Maya for last kilometres then.", Riley said.

They all turned around to make sure that Maya had heard it and saw Maya collapse to the ground.

"MAYA!", they all screamed but no response came.

 **I'm gonna leave you guys with a cliff-hanger for now. I know that this chapter is another short one but I promise that the next will be longer; besides, chapter 4 and 5 are just fillers for the upcoming event, so don't worry! My exams ends on Thursday and then I'll be able to focus more on this story.**

 **As always, Please** **Review and all the other stuff** **!**

 **I gør mig glad!**


	6. Chapter 6

**As some of you have reminded me, I am finally done with my exams! And that means that I have more time to continue this story. I'm thankful for your lovely reviews and that you guys actually like this story. Please remember that this story's focus is on friendship and not romance but it's up to you how you want to understand it – so if you want it to be romance I'm not stopping you but it is not what I focus on. With that in mind, I can't think of a better way to thank you than giving you guys the next chapter. So here is chapter seks – btw, I know that this is another short chapter but the next one will be longer:**

It all happened so fast and Riley didn't know what to do or what was going on. Riley felt her body running to Maya, who was lying on the ground and not responding to any of them, but Riley was in shock. She didn't notice that she was sitting on the ground next to Maya before she heard Farkle asking Lucas what was going on.

Farkle and Lucas were trying to get a respond from Maya but they didn't succeed. Maya was just lying on the ground. If it wasn't because they had seen her collapse, it just looked like she was sleeping. Unfortunately, they knew that Maya wasn't just sleeping. Something was seriously wrong and they had no clue what it was.

"Maya! Don't do this to us now! MAYA!", Lucas tried but still no response.

Lucas was scared. He was scared because he didn't know what was going on or if Maya would ever wake up again.

They were close to the road, Lucas guessed, approximately 3-5 kilometres. They were so close to civilization but somehow it felt like they were so far away from everything.

Lucas kept thinking about what they should do. Maya wasn't responding to anything, Riley was in shock and just sat there next to Maya and stared at her, and Farkle kept asking what they should do. This entire situation was overwhelming for all of them but Lucas knew that they had to get out the woods in order to find some help.

Suddenly they heard some quiet moans.

"Maya? Can you hear me..?", the signs of life from Maya had woken Riley from her shock state and now Riley was suddenly filled with hope.

Maya didn't answer but now and then quiet moans and hisses would escape her lips.

"What is going on?", Riley asked Lucas and Farkle.

"I don't know but right now I think we should be relieved that she's at least showing signs of life.". Farkle answered, clearly comforted by the small signs of life escaping Maya's mouth.

"Will she be okay..?", Riley quietly asked even though she knew that her friends were just as clueless as she was.

"I don't know Riley… but I do know that she needs help. We have to find the help.", Lucas stated, looking at the direction the road was.

"You're right! We have to keep moving.", Farkle said and got up on his feet, handing out his hand to Riley, who took it and got up.

"But what about Maya? She can't walk.. How are we supposed to continue when she's unconscious?", Riley asked. There was no way she would leave Maya behind at any cause.

"Like this.", Lucas said and picked Maya up and started to carry her.

"That works.", Riley said and they all started to walk towards the road.

The group had walked in silence for about 3 kilometres, the only sound coming occasionally from Maya, which comforted them.

While walking, Riley kept glancing at Maya, who was lying safely in Lucas' arms. She kept thinking if she had missed a detail about Maya's injury or if Maya had kept something from them bit if that was the case, then why hadn't Maya told them? Riley just wanted Maya to be okay. Seeing her in this vulnerable state scared Riley. Maya had always been the strong and fierce one, being vulnerable was not Maya and that made Riley come to the conclusion that Maya had hidden something from all of them. This fact made Riley sad and she glanced yet again at Maya with a sad expression on her face.

"Guys.. Something is wrong. Something is really, really wrong with Maya!", Lucas suddenly said, sounding really scared.

Farkle and Riley walked up to Lucas to see what had freaked him out.

Maya was moaning and hissing, clearly in pain and her body was shaking.

"What's going on?", Farkle asked nervously.

"I don't know…", Lucas said and put his hand to her forehead. "but she has a high fever right now. We have to find her help and we have to find it now!" Lucas said and started running with Maya in his arms. Farkle and Riley looked at each other with a worried expression and started to run after Lucas.

In what seemed like forever, the group finally made it to the road they had been searching for. They all stopped to grab some air.

"Okay we are here.. can you guys see any cars or something..?", Lucas asked, grasping for air.

They started to look around, when suddenly Farkle noticed light.

"I see a car!", Farkle shouted to his friends and ran back to his friends.

Maya was still moaning and shaking. This scared Farkle a lot. He had never experienced anything like this before and he had no idea what to do. Normally he always had the answer and it frightened him that he was so lost on what to do. All he could do was hoping that Maya would be okay but right now it looked like that probably wouldn't happen.

Riley saw the car as it got closer and started to jump and scream to make the driver notice her. Luckily the car seemed to slow down.

"Okay I think that the car is stopping. Maybe the driver can drive us to the nearest hospital?", Riley said hopeful. With everything that has happened over these last couple of days, she could finally cling on to some real hope. They were out of the woods, the car is stopping, and Maya will be okay, was what Riley kept thinking to herself.

The car stopped right in front of them and the window rolled down, revealing an old lady and her husband.

"Can you please help us? Our friend is sick and we need to get her to the nearest hospital. Please…", Lucas explained and begged the older couple.

The old woman looked at her husband and nodded.

"Of course we will help you. Get in.", said the old lady.

0o0o0o0o0

 _Cory & Topanga's apartment:_

"Don't worry mom. I'm sure they're alright…", Auggie tried to comfort his mom. Topanga smiled back at her son, appreciating the comfort but she couldn't help but worrying.

When they were told that the school had lost Riley, Maya, Lucas and Farkle, they were furious. How could it happen? How could the school just leave them in the woods? Topanga was ready to sue the school but Cory had stopped her. He had told her that suing the school would not help finding the kids.

It had been two days since they left for the trip and they were supposed to be back by now. Topanga had made brunch for Riley and Maya earlier that day, knowing that they would be hungry after their survival trip, which they were supposed to be home from at 10.

When the phone called, Topanga thought it was Riley but was instead met by a police officer who told her about the situation.

Since the phone call, Topanga and Cory had been sitting on the couch, waiting for a phone call saying that the kids were found.

It was now almost midnight and they were all tired but none of them could sleep.

Auggie tried to lift the spirit in the home but he was as worried as his parents were. He couldn't imagine a life without his big sister or her friends. So Auggie kept telling his parents that they would be found and nothing bad has happened to them and by doing so, Auggie would remind himself of the same things.

Auggie tried to keep awake but it was way past his bedtime and it didn't take long for his head to find Topanga's lab.

"Do you think that the kids are alright?", Topanga asked Cory quietly, partly because she didn't want to wake up her sleeping son but also because she was afraid of what the answer might be.

"I don't know..", Cory answered and leaned closer to Topanga.

Cory felt his eyes getting heavier as he was leaning on Topanga.

Suddenly the phone started to ring and woke up Topanga and Cory from their short and unintentionally nap.

Cory ran to the phone and walked around the apartment, while talking on the phone. Hope started to find its way to Topanga. Maybe it was the kids?, Topanga thought to herself and started to play with Auggie's hair. She wanted to know who was calling them this late but the thought also made her anxious. It could be bad news. No, she could not think like that. The kids were alright and they would get home safely, she thought.

"Who was it?", Topanga asked hopefully, when Cory sat down next to her.

"They found them.", Cory whispered.

"What?", Topanga asked, she wasn't sure if she had heard correctly.

"They found them!", Cory said louder this time, happiness clearly taking over.

Topanga started to smile and ran over to hug Cory who returned the hug.

"Where are they?", Topanga asked, while hugging Cory.

"They are at the hospital…", Cory stated as if he didn't believe what he had just said.

"What?! Are they okay?", Topanga asked timidly.

"I don't know Topanga… They didn't tell me what was going on but they told us that we had to get there as fast as possible.", Cory replied, obviously scared about what they would find when they would arrive at the hospital.

 **So there you have it; chapter 6. Hope you guys enjoyed it and don't worry – the story is not done yet. It's actually getting longer than I thought it would be because you guys inspire me to continue it.**

 **Please** **Review and all the other stuff** **!**

 **I'm working on chapter 7 already so it shouldn't be long for the next update.**

 **I gør mig glad!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys. Sorry it has been days since the last update but things have been a bit complicated this week since I just decided to switch school. Keep in mind that this is also a short chapter, however, chapter 8 is going to be a long one, I promise! Chapter 8 won't be uploaded until after Monday since I'm going to Germany for a Taylor Swift concert Saturday and won't be home until Sunday afternoon and Monday I have to go to a party with my friends – so hopefully chapter 8 will be uploaded Tuesday (hopefully). Until then; Here's chapter siete:**

"What do you mean that we can't see her?! We brought her here! She's our friend!", Lucas shouted at the doctor.

"Lucas… calm down.. I'm sure that they are doing their best.", Riley said while putting a comforting hand on Lucas' shoulder.

"sorry…", Lucas said quietly, not really being sorry. He was frustrated and worried, calming down was not an option at the moment.

It has been two hours since they arrived to the hospital and Maya was still unconscious while the doctors took her away. They didn't know what was wrong with her and they didn't get any answers which annoyed Lucas.

Riley guided Lucas back to their seats in the waiting room where Farkle was still sitting, lost in his own thoughts.

"Still no answers?", Farkle asked carefully, not wanting to make Lucas angrier. Lucas didn't have to say anything, based on his facial expression, Farkle knew that they were still as lost as before they got here.

Farkle was really worried. He had never seen anything like this before and he didn't know how to handle it, scared he might say something wrong, he tried not to speak at all.

Riley had been informed that her parents were on their way along with Katy. Riley couldn't wait to see them again and tell them how scared she actually is. The fact that they didn't know anything about Maya's condition scared her the most and she could see that the situation had affected Farkle and Lucas as well.

Farkle was being quiet and Lucas was getting more and more tense and for the first time, Riley didn't know how to fix it.

0o0o0o0

After some time Topanga, Cory and Katy arrived to the hospital as clueless as the kids were.

"Oh there they are!", Cory said and pointed towards the kids, who were sitting in the waiting room.

"Riley?", Topanga said and as soon as she had said it, Riley ran towards them.

"Mom! I'm so glad you're finally here!", Riley said, while hugging her mom tight.

Cory went over to the girls and hugged them.

"I'm so glad you're okay.", Cory said and looked towards Farkle and Lucas, "and also you guys", he finished.

Farkle and Lucas just gave a small smile and looked down again. None of their parents could come to pick them up since Farkle's parents were in Europe and Lucas' parents didn't have a car at the moment.

"Ehm sorry to break your little reunion but Riley, where's Maya?", Katy said. She had scanned the entire waiting room and couldn't find her daughter which scared her.

Katy hated hospitals and wanted to get out of the hospital and home as fast as possible.

Riley looked down not sure what to say. Topanga could see the tears that started to form in Riley's eyes.

"Riley… is Maya okay?", Topanga quietly asked, scared to know the answer.

"we don't know… The doctors won't tell us anything.", Riley replied while drying her eyes.

After hearing that, Cory went over to the doctors demanding answers and Katy went after him. Topanga decided to sit down with the kids as comfort since they were clearly traumatized by something that had happened.

"Now can someone please tell me what happened, while you were in the woods? How did you get lost and why is Maya in the hospital?", Topanga asked all of them.

Lucas looked up not sure if he should answer or not but decided not to say anything and looked down again.

"Riley..? Please tell me what happened.", Topanga tried again.

"Well we got to a small cliff and Maya fell in the water with the bag and Lucas jumped after her and we couldn't see her and mom I was so scared and then Lucas found her and they got out of the water and we decided to camp for the night and we had lost one of the bags in the water and both of the emergency phones and the next day Maya was acting all weird and she didn't sleep during the night and then Lucas climbed a tree and spotted a road and we decided to walk until we reached the road but then we found out that Maya had sprained her ankle and she became paler and paler and when we were almost at the road she fell unconscious and Lucas carried her all the way to the road and a car stopped and we got a lift to the hospital and now we are here and we don't know what's wrong with Maya and I am so scared mom…", Riley explained really fast, without taking a break to breathe.

Topanga tried to follow what her daughter had just explained and just hugged Riley. They had been through a lot, Topanga thought to herself.

Topanga looked over at her husband and Katy and saw that both of them had a worried facial expression.

While Riley had explained everything for her mom, the events passed through Lucas' head. Why hadn't he realized earlier that something was wrong with Maya? He should have known and he was angry at himself for that reason.

Farkle realized how much had actually happened over the last couple of days. He kept thinking, how things could go so wrong. He kept begging that Maya would be okay and that they could go home and forget all the bad things that had happened.

After some time, Cory and Katy returned to the rest, not looking happy. Farkle, Lucas, Riley, and Topanga looked up at them, waiting for answers.

"So.. Apparently Maya has a serious infection from a wound in her side that hasn't been cleaned.. Did you guys know about that?", Cory asked the kids.

"What?!", They all said.

"No dad.. we didn't know that..", Riley whispered. "Is she going to be okay?", she asked.

"The doctors are doing their best right now so only time can tell honey.", Cory said calmly, putting an arm around his daughter's shoulder.

"How come you didn't know about it?!", Katy suddenly asked them, clearly upset that her daughter was in such bad shape.

"She didn't tell us anything. We suspected something was wrong but she wouldn't tell us. she walked a long distance on a sprained ankle before admitting that she had hurt her foot but she didn't tell us about a wound.. we didn't know…", Farkle replied, speaking for the first time in a couple of hours. He was shocked. How could Maya keep something like that from them?, Farkle thought.

Katy was upset but she seemed to calm down a bit after what Farkle had said.

"Well Maya always has to strong… even though she is in pain..", Katy whispered, mostly to herself but the others could also hear it.

They all sat in silence after that, waiting for the doctors to tell them how the operation was going.

0o0o0o0

After what felt like an eternity, a doctor finally approached them.

"Well?", Cory asked the doctor.

"We got rid of all the infection but this was a bad case of infection in a long cut…", The doctor started.

"And what does that mean?", Katy asked, tired of waiting. She just wanted her baby girl home safe and sound.

"It means that Maya still hasn't woken up which is not good since she was unconscious when she got here. We are not sure if she is going to wake up again… only time can tell. But you're welcome to stay here for as long as you want but only one visitor at a time.", The doctor said and left the group.

"Not sure if she'll wake up again?..", Riley whispered…

And that was when the entire world seemed to end.

 **So there you have it and again sorry for it being short but as I said earlier; chapter 8 is going to be longer. I'm not a doctor but this is what happened in my dream so just keep that in mind. Hope you liked it, until next time:**

 **PLEASE REVIEW and all the other stuff**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys. Sorry it's been a while since last chapter but time just slipped out of my hands. But now I have summer vacation and I only have to think about my upcoming birthday, driver's license and finishing this story and a writer's block; but now I'm back on track. Thank you for being so nice – your reward: chapter otte:**

Katy stayed with Maya at the hospital but the others had to go home but promised they would come back the next morning.

Katy sat next to her daughter and looked at her with a sad smile.

"Oh baby girl.. why do you always have to be so strong..", Katy whispered while stroking Maya's hair.

Seeing her daughter in this condition, without even knowing if she will ever wake up again, broke Katy more than she led on.

Maya was the only thing that really mattered for Katy and without her, Katy would be lost.

But right now there was nothing Katy could do besides talking to Maya and hoping. Hoping that Maya would wake up again, hoping that everything would go back to normal. Yes, hope was the only thing Katy Hart could hold on to.

Katy decided to talk to Maya. Maybe hearing the voice of a loved one could help getting a lost soul back.

"You can't leave me baby girl. It's too early and you know I would be lost without you. You're my flashlight, you know that right?", Katy said to Maya, while holding her limp hand.

"I got all I need when I got you around. You have always helped me getting through tough times and I never stopped to think that you also needed a light to follow… You have always been so strong.. protecting the ones you love without even questioning anything…", Katy said behind her tears which seemed endless.

"Now you're stuck in the dark and believe me baby girl, I will help lead you through the dark if you let me… for once I could be your flashlight… Please… please just hold on to the light..", Katy continued, having trouble to even speak without her voice cracking.

Katy couldn't believe that her own daughter had gone through so much pain. When Riley had told her, what had happened Katy felt her heart rip apart. No one would ever wish for his or her child to go through so much pain.

Katy knew why Maya didn't tell her friends that she was in pain. Katy knew how determined Maya could be. But she would never expect it to go this wrong.. That Maya had to go through so much pain that she's now was in a state where no one knew if she would ever wake up again, for Katy it just seemed surreal.

But Katy also knew that Maya's actions showed how much she cares for the people she loves and that Maya would never be the one to hold back her friends.

Katy looked at Maya's unconscious form. She had stopped crying but the tears just wouldn't stop coming.

"Remember the time when you were younger? Where you came home from school, exited to show me a drawing you had made and I didn't have time to even stop and look at it because I had to work? I'm sorry Maya…", Katy started to talk to Maya again.

"I'm sorry that I've never been the mom you wanted me to be. I'm sorry that I never were there for you… If you wake up, I promise that I will be a better mom… I will never let you down… I promise.. just.. please wake up… _please_ …", and with that Katy couldn't help but cry again.

She felt awful. She had really been a bad mother for Maya, Katy thought. She could never forgive herself if Maya didn't wake up.

That night Katy felt asleep with her hand holding on tight to Maya's hand, never letting go.

0o0o0o0o0

The next morning Cory, Topanga, Auggie, Riley, Lucas and Farkle all returned to the hospital, they even brought Shawn. Shawn had driven all night to get there.

They were told that there was only allowed one person at a time in Maya's room and when Katy left the room, Shawn went in and sat next to Maya.

"Hey kiddo…", Shawn said awkwardly, while walking in the room. Even though he knew that Maya hadn't woken up, Shawn somehow expected that Maya would greet him with a big smile like she always did. The realization of what had happened hit Shawn and he immediately sat down next to Maya, holding her hand.

"You know.. when Cory called me and told me that you were in the hospital, I thought that it was maybe something like a broken arm or something… not this..", Shawn's voice cracked while he said that and he looked down at Maya with a sad expression

"Maya.. you're like a daughter to me, you know that… and I want to have way more memorise with you before one of us leaves this earth, preferably me first. I want to see you go on a real first date and I want to see your face light up with that wonderful smile of yours when you ask me how you look and I tell you that you look beautiful; because you always do. I want to be there for you when you get your heart broken the first time and I want to help you draw ugly pictures of that jerk who would ever break your heart and doesn't realize how great you are… A jerk who doesn't see the beauty in you, who doesn't realize that you're just as beautiful on the inside. That you're the bravest, strongest and most caring person in the entire world. ", Shawn could feel tears starting to form in his eyes.

"I just want to be there for you Maya… always.. you can't leave us now..", Shawn continued and looked down at the floor.

Shawn started to go through his pocket and grabbed a small box, holding it in his hands.

"You know.. you're the first person I show this to.. and I wanted your permission.. see kiddo.. I was preparing to propose to Katy… we could become a family.. the three of us.", Shawn said, tearing up.

"And if you don't wake up… then I don't know what to do.", Shawn looked back at Maya.

"Katy told me that when you were a child you would wait and watch from far away.. you knew that you had to grow up faster than the others. You knew that you had work while they all played. You had a tough life growing up but that made you strong. Stronger than most and I know that your spirit can never die. You are a warrior, Maya. You can fight through this. You can defeat whatever that is holding you back.. you always have..", Shawn grabbed Maya's hand harder, fighting his own urge to break down completely.

"Maya you can't leave. Not now.. Remember, you are a stayer and not a leaver. That's what makes us so similar, we have both lost our 'jackets'. We stay, Maya. You have lost your sense of light but I know that you can find it again. I need you to find that light again… can you do that for me, Maya? We all need you… I need you… Just stay.", Shawn said while giving Maya's limp hand a tiny squeeze and kissed her forehead before leaving the room.

0o0o0o0o0

Farkle was the next one to talk to Maya.

He didn't know what to expect but he was told that talking to her might help bringing her back.

Farkle went over to the chair next to the bed and sat down, looking at Maya.

"So.. Maya.. Please wake up..", Farkle said and the tears he didn't even know he was holding back started to fall.

"I know that you are in a lot of pain.. and I know that it would be easier to just forget about it but we need you here. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but we can get through it.. If you just stay…", Farkle said while crying.

"No matter what you go through, I will never leave you. So Maya you've got to be strong like you always are. You have always been there for me.. Remember when I were bullied by Billy? You were there for me, you had my back. You're always there with a smile and telling me I'm not alone. I don't know what I'll do without you. We are a team.. you, me, Lucas and Riley…", Farkle continued, trying to hold back the tears but unsuccessfully.

"We are a team, Maya… I know you scare some people but that's because they don't know you. They don't know how much you care for others.. they don't know how much you will go through just to make sure that we are happy. All I'm asking is that you stay. You just have to stay. You have to wake up and make everything fall back to our old routine… Maya… please.. I know that you're tired and maybe you feel like you carry the weight of everyone else's happiness on your shoulder but I promise that things will get better.. if you just wake up..", Farkle had to look away. Looking at Maya just made him cry even more.

"I can't rule the world without you.. You know that other people at the school are telling me no way, when I say I'm gonna rule the world but you always have my back.. you always tell me to follow my dreams and to carry on..", Farkle said.

"I don't want to rule a world where you're not in it. It won't be the same. I need you Maya.. we all do. Please, wake up…", Farkle said, laying a hand on Maya's shoulder

"Farkle Nation is not the same without you. I need a protector to keep me grounded… I still remember when you made a drawing of me sitting in a bird's nest. At that point I didn't quite understand what it meant but now I now.. and I'm sorry for not realizing it earlier. I need protection and I admit it now… you've always been there for me Maya.. and I would be lost without you.", Farkle continued, still crying.

"I still have the drawing you drew when we went to the library for the first time. That was the first time I saw the real you.. the vulnerable Maya.. and I will never forget that. You may not be as tough as you lead on but that doesn't make you any lesser. We still need you… you can't leave just yet. Just be strong one more time…", Farkle gave a gentle squeeze on Maya's shoulder, before leaving the room.

0o0o0o0o0

Lucas was the next person to talk to Maya.

He sat down in the chair next to the bed and looked at Maya. He couldn't help but feeling angry that he hadn't gotten her out of the water faster or had checked if Maya actually was hurt when he knew she was acting odd.

"I'm sorry.. I should've done more.. I.. I.. I'm so sorry…", Lucas said, looking down at the floor, before getting courage to say more.

"Maya you have to fight this and I know that you can do it. I know it because I know you. Just by looking into your eyes I can see how much they hold. I've seen that you have come so far to be right where you are. And you know me. I don't give up easily. Even though the skies seem rough, I won't give up. I know you can fight this, Maya, and I will wait for you, we all will. You have to know that you're worth the wait. We are all waiting for you to wake up." Lucas said, not holding back any tears. He was not ready to let one of his best friends go.

"I won't give up on you, I just won't. You might not be sure about who you are and why life is worth returning to but that is just another reason for waking up.", Lucas said, this time looking at Maya.

"We all still have a lot to learn but I know that life is worth it. This event came sudden, like a lightning, but we can work it out. You have friends and family who loves and cares about you as much as you do for us. Fight this.. I know you can do it..", Lucas couldn't stop the tears. He just wanted Maya to wake up again and everything going back to normal.

"..Cause when everything seems bad and you only see the darkness life has to offer.. that's when you get stronger. I mean.. my life had hit one of the dark holes but then I moved here and you helped me out from the darkness.", Lucas said, grabbing Maya's hand gently, not wanting to hurt her even more.

"That's what we have in common.. we are soldiers… we fall into the darkness but somehow we manage to start glowing again and we get back into the light. We are soldiers of light, Maya. You just have to find that glow again. Everything is going to be just fine again. We got each other's back and you have your mom and Shawn, and Farkle, and the Matthews.", Lucas continued, his eyes were red from the tears that kept coming.

"Remember the time when we found out that Farkle was bullied? We both stopped each other from doing stuff we would regret later on. That's what's so good about our friendship, Maya. You're my shelter… I don't know what I would do without you.."

"Just.. please say something… I can't lose you.. c'mon shortstacks, please just _say something_ … Please keep fighting… just one more battle.. find that wonderful glow of yours and wake up.. _please…_ ", Lucas gave Maya a gentle kiss on the forehead before leaving the room. This just couldn't be the goodbye, it couldn't. Lucas kept hoping that Maya would fight the battle and return to all of them. He couldn't lose one of his best friends, he thought before leaving the room entirely.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Riley had noticed how every time a person returned from the room, they looked even sadder than when they had entered. This scared Riley. She was up next to talk to Maya.

Riley entered the room and it looked so plain, and boring and sad. The walls were a greyish white colour, and the only furniture was a small chair, which looked uncomfortable, and a bed. The bed where her best friend was laying on. Riley stopped her train of thoughts; she knew that she had to confront her fear. But she was so scared to look at her best friend. She was scared that this could be the last time she would see her best friend and she didn't want her last memory of Maya to be like that.

Riley finally decided to sit down in the chair, which looked uncomfortable, and after having sat down, she could acknowledge that it indeed was very uncomfortable. Riley closed her eyes and squeezed them together hard, while turning her head towards the bed before finally opening her eyes, allowing herself to look at Maya.

Maya still looked awfully pale, and looked like she was in a lot of pain.

"Oh Maya…", Riley said, voice cracking instantly.

"Why did you let this happen to yourself? Didn't you stop to think about how your actions would affect the rest of us?", Riley said angry. But she wasn't really angry, well at least not at Maya. She was angry at herself for not noticing anything earlier, for letting her best friend get so sick.

"I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to sound angry at you… I just can't control my feelings right now.. everything is so confusing and scary.. I need you, Maya. You know that. I can't live in a world without my best friend in it. You know that as long as we're together, there's no place I'd rather be. I guess I'm just really scared, Maya…", Riley said, this time crying. She grabbed Maya's hand with one hand and stroked Maya's hair with the other.

"What am I supposed to do without you? You know that I'm a klutz and I need your advice.. you are always there for me so please come back to me… We finally got our own world to take on and it's too early for you to.. retire..", Riley continued.

"I know you're in a lot of pain right now but you must know that seeing you like this hurts me as well… without you I crumble, you know that. I can't lose my best friend.. not now.. not ever..", Riley could help but crying harder, and she leaned over the bed so she was half hugging Maya.

"We have our lives planned, Maya. We were gonna have a double wedding, have a house next to each other and watch as our kids will grow up as best friends, and then when we get old we would sit at the porch and talking about old times. So you see, you can't leave now… cause I need you, we all do. And you and I both know that you are strong enough to fight this. So please… keep fighting, Maya.. I can't lose you.. I just can't. Just hold on, Maya. Hold on"

Riley gently kissed Maya's forehead and stroked her hair for the last time before leaving the room. Riley stopped at the door and turned around.

"You have to wake up. RING POWER!", Riley said, pointing at her finger, before leaving the room entirely. Now understanding why they all seemed sadder when they got back. Riley couldn't stop crying.

0o0o0o0o0o0

After some convincing, Auggie was finally allowed to go see Maya alone.

Auggie went over to the chair and sat down, while looking at Maya.

"Look Maya, I was only allowed a short time in here so I'll do this quick.", Auggie started.

"I may only be this many", Auggie held up the proper amount of fingers, before continuing. "but I know something about life; I know that you don't just quit it because it seems like the easier solution for everything, especially when you have so many people who cares about you. You may not know this but we are all here for you and waiting for you to wake up.", Auggie said, while looking at Maya.

"I don't like seeing people sad, especially not when it's my sister who can't stop crying. This is really hurting her, Maya. And I know that you would never hurt Riley. So you have to wake up and make everything good again. I can't lose one of my two big sisters.", Auggie said, drying the tears there were forming in his eyes, before he got up and went to the door.

Auggie turned around and took a final glimpse.

"I remember how you used to say that hope is for suckers but now let me rephrase it; giving up is for suckers.", Auggie said and left the room, not managing to dry his eyes.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Topanga went to the chair next to the bed and sat down.

"Oh sweetie. I'm not blaming you for this, Maya. I won't try to make you feel guilty about anything but I want you to know that life hasn't given up on you. You're still fighting and that shows incredible strength. The doctors told me that the chances weren't that big but you're still here. Now if you could just wake up again…", Topanga said while holding both of Maya's hands.

"Life has its ups and downs, Maya. And you know that more than most, so therefore you also know that this is a down in life. You hit a bump and you're having trouble to get up again. But you have to remember to thank life for all these ups and downs, this roller coaster we call life. Because those ups and downs are what makes life worth living.", Topanga continued.

"And you have not finished your roller coaster yet. You have so much more to come back to. I'm not gonna lie, there will be more bumps along the way but you have to remember that you have your friends and family to help you get through the tough times.", Tears were now starting to form in the Lawyers eyes.

"Maya, life is not over yet. You have to keep fighting. You're the fiercest person I know and you're not a quitter. Life has so much more in hold for you. You have to continue your journey but not in the afterlife. I may not be a teacher but I do know a lot about life and I still have a lot to learn. But I know one thing for sure… we are not ready to give up on you. So Maya, let the fierce amazon warrior inside of you out and keep fighting. Return to us. I believe in you and I know that you can do it. I just know it.", Topanga gave Maya a peck on the cheek and got up.

"You're strong, Maya; so keep on fighting. I believe in you.", Topanga said before leaving the room.

0o0o0o0o0o0

It was time for all of them to go home again but Cory was allowed five minutes to say a few words to Maya.

Cory went into the room but didn't sit down in the chair. Instead he went to the other side of the bed and looked down at Maya.

"I've got the key to y castle in the air, but whether I can unlock the door remains to be seen; Louisa May Alcott, Little Women.", Cory started.

"This is something I want you to try to remember, Maya. I don't have that much time so I'm just gonna cut right to the chase.", Cory said.

"I know that everyone has tried to make you stay but even though it pains me to say this, if you are ready to let go.. then do it.", Cory continued, trying not to cry.

"I care a lot about you and you know that. You're like an extra daughter for me and as a spare father I know it's my duty to tell you this. I don't want you to let go but that choice isn't mine to make. It's yours. And whatever you chose I want you to know that I'm proud of you. You have to know that letting go doesn't mean that you don't care about us anymore. It's just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself. You're the only one who has the key to your life and therefore it is up to you. The choice is yours, Maya. And none of us will blame you for a choice you make for yourself.", Cory said, trying to be strong for Maya.

"It pains me and everyone else to let you go but you can't let us control your life, Maya. Remember that. Whatever you chose, remember that we all love you.", Cory said before gently squeezing Maya's shoulder and leaving the room.

Yes, the choice was Maya's and only hers. Letting go may not seem easy but sometimes it's the only option. Maya had to make her own decisions in order to be happy.

Maya was the only one who had the key.

 **And there you had it; chapter 8! Again sorry for the long wait. This was the longest chapter I have written but I finally finished it. The story is not over yet!**

 **Until next time:**

 **Please review and etc.**

 **I gør mig glad**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay so here's the deal. I was diagnosed with stress this summer and after a change of school and finally getting my driver's license, I got my life back on track. So that is why I haven't updated for almost six months; which I am terribly sorry for. However, it shocked me to see how many of you have stayed loyal to this story; you did not quit the story and therefore I am not quitting you. I hereby present chapter nine and I truly hope that it makes up for this dreadfully long delay. So without further ado..**

"5 months, mom, it's been more than 5 months!", Riley bawled, "..and she still hasn't woken up yet.." Topanga looked at her daughter with sorrowful eyes, knowing there was nothing to say, which could make everything better. Topanga had hoped that Maya was strong enough to fight through whatever was holding her back but as time went by, it seemed to Topanga that Maya sadly wouldn't make it.

Ever since the accident, everything had changed. Riley, Farkle and Lucas still hung out from time to time but it would be a lie to say that it was the same. Riley has lost something. That special something that always made Riley light up in even the darkest of times. The light was gone and had instead been replaced by an unbearable grief. Riley was no longer the sunshiny, happy-go-lucky kid anymore; which was a loss for the small group of friends.

Without Riley being her normal optimistic self, the group dynamic had changed as well. Instead of being a know-it-all, Farkle became more and more quiet in class, much to his teachers' and parent's distress. Farkle simply stopped caring about his grades and instead started centring ways to wake coma patients up and had yet to fulfil his mission. Farkle had trouble sleeping at night and trouble staying awake in class. It seemed like the bags under his eyes became finer for everyday and the coffee cup in his hands became emptier for a shorter amount of time.

For Lucas it appeared that his grief converted to anger and with anger boiling inside of him, he had to take it out on something or someone. It started out with a fight here and there but after a couple of months, it was no revelation to see Lucas in detention full of bruises. One day he even came to school with a broken hand after letting his frustrations out on his bedroom wall. Lucas spent most of his days in detention or looking for trouble. It scared them all to see Lucas acting like that but truth be told, it scared each of them to see how all of them had changed.

Cory had allowed the kids to grief at first but with the revelation of Maya most likely wouldn't wake up, he know they had to face the fact and come to terms with a subject which is hard for everyone; death.

"Death.", Cory pointed at the board, making sure that the students knew that class had begun.

"Do we have to talk about this..?", Riley asked, showing her disagreement with the topic.

"Yes, Riley, We do." Cory answered and pointed at the board again. "We are all familiar with it, we are all aware that one day we will take our last breath on this earth and yet we never talk about it. How come?" Cory asked the entire class, however, no one answered. Cory knew it was hard for them but he also knew that talking about it would help them more than they'd realize at the moment.

"Lucas, how come?" Cory asked Lucas, hoping that he would get even just a slim answer to his vast question.

"Because it's too hard, sir." Lucas answered, not looking at anything but this desk.

"Correct. Now the question is - why is it so hard?" Cory asked the class again, this time not expecting an answer. "Losing people you love affects you. It is buried inside of you and becomes this big, bottomless hole of ache. It doesn't magically go away. No one expects it to go away easily." Cory continued, knowing that he had captured the class' attention.

"Why are you telling us this, dad? Maya isn't dead. She isn't! There is no need for you to tell us this!" Riley said, while raising her voice. She was confused to why her dad would possibly talk about something like death as if he had given up on Maya.

"You're wrong, Riley. There is a need for you to hear this. Whether or not you like it, death is a part of our lives. We cannot avoid it. It is necessary to learn about, it is necessary to hear about it, and most importantly, it is necessary to talk about it." Cory answered with a mild voice and continued. "I know that Maya isn't dead but even though you might not want to hear this, you have to be ready to let go. I know it is hard and I am not saying Maya cannot fight through this but the chances are that she might not make it. Therefore is it necessary to talk about this exact topic. As Edgar Allan Poe once stated – ' _The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?_ ' We cannot control life and death, Riley, but what we can control is how we let it affect us." Cory said. He could see the pain on his daughter's face, he knew how much his daughter was aching, how everyone was aching, and most notably he knew that everyone needed to hear what he was saying since it's a lesson everyone will go through more than once throughout their lifetime. 

"The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, you cannot move forward." Cory explained. "You will lose someone you can't live without, and your heart will be badly broken and the pain will be unbearable, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn't seal back up. And you come through."

"You have to listen to what I am saying now. It is a painful lesson but it is essential. The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward. I cannot teach you to forget, I cannot teach you to let go but I can guide you, we can all guide each other because in times like these, we realize that it's easier to go through dark moments with the support we get from others." Cory clarified, knowing that it's a tough topic and joyously proud of the class for actually paying attention to his every word.

There was a pause. The class was taking in the information, trying to cope, when Farkle stood up. "I realize there's something incredibly honest about tress in winter," Farkle stated, getting Cory's full attention.

"And why is that, Farkle?", Cory asked, clearly interested in what Farkle was declaring.

"How they're experts at letting things go." Farkle said, trying to hold back the tears. "But we are not tress in winter, and to me it seems as letting go is the hardest I'll ever experience. Why is it so hard?" Farkle asked, this time breaking down and even though he tried to dry his tears, it seemed like the tears were infinite.

The class looked at Farkle, feeling his pain and all of the students had trouble holding back their tears.

"I don't see how we can let go, if Maya should give up, Mr. Matthews. We will never stop caring about her." Lucas suddenly said, wiping away his own tears. Cory stared at Lucas. He had never seen him cry. Cory could see that the months of building up walls, the months of protecting himself from hurting, were ripped apart, and now Lucas was filled up with the feelings he had so bravely tried to escape. "I'm sorry…", Lucas whispered. "I guess I'm not as strong as I've thought.." Lucas continued.

"Don't be sorry for crying, Lucas. None of you should be sorry nor afraid of crying. It's okay to cry. Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart." Cory said, looking at Lucas, who took his words to heart. "But you also need to know that letting go doesn't mean that you don't care about someone anymore. It's just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself." Cory said in respond to Lucas' earlier statement.

"You may feel like the world has betrayed you. You may feel as if life is spitting at your face and faith is laughing at you. The whole world can become the enemy when you lose what you love. I know that letting go of Maya is painful. But you have a choice. You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back. Or you can do what she'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on. If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them." Cory continued.

Riley looked at her father. She tried to cope, she tried to realize that he was saying this by nothing but good intentions but it still hurt. It hurt a lot.

"Sometimes the hardest part isn't letting go but rather learning to start over. Death leaves a heartache no one can heal.. but love… Love leaves a memory no one can steal. And when someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure. This treasure is something you must hold onto forever. " Cory said, after seeing the pained face from his own daughter.

"But if you let them go… will they ever forgive you? Will they forgive you for letting go?", Riley asked her father, while the tears ran down her face with some mascara following the watery path.

"One day you will understand that people can be more forgiving than you can imagine. But you have to forgive yourself. You cannot change the past. The weird, peculiar thing about devastating loss is that life actually goes on. When you're faced with a tragedy, a loss so huge that you have no idea how you can live through it, somehow, the world keeps turning, the seconds keep ticking." Cory answered in the most truthful way he could.

"But I just want everything to go back to normal.. I don't want my life to change.."

"No matter how much we want things to stay the same, life is all about change. Sometimes change is for the better, and sometimes it's not. But no matter why things are changing, we need to be able to let go and move on. Whether it's a painful breakup, a treacherous betrayal or the death of a loved one, holding onto pass pain and resentment will only hold you back and probably the most difficult aspect of moving on is accepting that the other person already did." Cory finished.

He looked at his students and noticed not a single eye was dry. Yes death and letting go is a hard topic but it is something you cannot avoid in life and the thing Cory wants to teach his students is life – it's ups and downs because lying about the truth will only hurt them later on.

"Dad, may we be excused?" Riley suddenly asked, meaning her, Farkle and Lucas.

"Why is that?" Cory asked, even though he knew the answer.

"We have something important we have to do" Riley answered, with a sad cling to voice but determination in her heart. She understood what they had to do even though it killed her to do so.

"I understand. Go." Cory replied, and with that the three friends left the classroom and headed to the hospital.

Riley, Farkle and Lucas entered Maya's room at the hospital.

"Not a day goes by that I don't look at your picture and smile. Or cry. Or both..", Riley said, while sitting down next to Maya.

"Sometimes I just wish you were here so I could tell you how much I need you and how hard every day has been without you..", Riley said, sniffling "..but that is not why we here cause you already know that. You know how much we miss you and want you to wake up. You know that so that is not what we are doing here today." Riley continued, the tears finding their way down her cheeks yet again.

Riley looked at Lucas and Farkle, who came over to her. They were all crying but they understood.

"They say when you love someone; you should be willing to set them free. So that's what we're doing. We will step back and you can move on. We will let you go… your happiness means everything to us and even though it pains us, we will let you go. You have to understand that letting go of you is the hardest thing we will ever do… but we do not control your life." Lucas said, taking one of Maya's hands in his own and not trying to stop the tears running down his face.

"We just wanted to tell you that we understand if you go. It's okay if you have to leave us. It's okay if you want to stop fighting." Farkle said to Maya.

"We love you every day. And now we will miss you every day." Riley said, and gave Maya a hug.

The group each took a turn giving Maya a hug before leaving Maya's room with teary eyes, knowing that they had done the right thing even though it was painful.

Riley returned to her apartment later that evening. She went to her room without looking at her family and once she arrived, she sat down in her beloved bay window.

Riley was not crying once her family entered the room.

"What happened, Riley?" Topanga asked her daughter, while seating herself next to Riley and put her arms around her.

"We let go, mom.." Riley said in a small voice but her parents did not miss the break in her voice.

Cory sat down on the other side of the bay window, also placing his arms around his daughter. He knew it must have been hard on them but he also knew that Riley now understood that it was the right thing to do.

Auggie entered Riley's room and joined the group hug.

"Will you be okay, Riley?" Auggie asked his big sister with concern in his voice.

"I'll be okay. Just not today."

 **And there you have it. Chapter 9! The story is not over yet so don't worry and you will definitely not have to wait almost 6 months again for the next update, I promise. I'm back now and not quitting on you.**

 **Please review this chapter, I am very interested in hearing your response to this chapter. I've worked a lot on it so I hope you like it.**

 **So yeah until next time – favourite, follow and review**

 **I gør mig glad**


	10. Chapter 10

**Omg I cannot tell you enough how terribly sorry I truly am about making you wait so long AGAIN for another chapter. Life just came in the way and every time I wanted to write, I couldn't. I had a hard time believing in this story but I'm back with another chapter for you guys. I truly hope you can forgive me and will enjoy this chapter. I've worked hard on it for you guys but this will be a** _ **short chapter**_ **– so read it and please review it. But without further ado. I present you – kapitel 10**

"You know.. things surely has changed while you were at the hospital.", Riley said.

"I have so much to tell you! So much you need to know. I hope you're comfortable cause it might take a while. Are you ready?", Riley asked optimistically.

There came no answer but that didn't matter. Riley knew the answer, so she started to fill her friend up.

"I'm just so happy that I can finally tell you. You might remember, the guy I was telling you about, while you were in the hospital. Well yesterday he finally asked me out. I'm going on a date with him and I'm actually excited to see where this leads.", Riley started and looked at her best friend, who was at her side.

It felt nice finally being able to sit and talk again. Away from the hospital. It had been way too long.

"You know.. at one point I really thought Lucas was my one and only. You know… the Cory to the Torpanga. But we have all grown and I guess you can't always end up together with your first love. I remember you trying to convince me about that.", Riley said with a chuckle and continued.

"He really misses you, I hope you know that. It was tough on us all when he had to move back to Texas again. While you were in the hospital, it just became harder and harder for Lucas to contain his emotions. He ended up being feared by everyone at school.. and then he got kicked out after his latest incident..", Riley told with a sad expression on her face.

"But I heard from him recently. He told me he was doing fine, had only few accidents and even started working at the ranch. He told me that physical work helped him contain his emotions when they got too strong. I was thinking of visiting him soon, I expect you wanna come as well?", Riley asked but continued right away.

"He also told me to check up on you. He wanted me to tell you how much he misses you and how he's sad he can't be here for you now. That he cannot protect you anymore. But he also wrote that he knows you're in good hands by now and he's happy that I'm still here. He said he'll come to visit soon. He can't wait to see you again.", Riley told happily.

Riley missed Lucas dearly but she know he had to move back. It was best for him. It had been almost 6 months since he had moved back but they still kept in touch every now and then.

Riley looked to her side and smiled at her friend.

"Farkle also told me to say hi from him. He's doing so great in London. Remember I told you that he was offered to move there so he could continue to improve his brilliant mind? Well.. he was in the news the other day and he is doing better than fine. I gave him a call a couple of days ago. He told me that he will soon be going to Copenhagen or Stockholm to study more. He's not sure where to go though. But he's excited about going to a Scandinavian country and maybe also learn more about his mother's roots.", Riley continued to fill her friend in.

So much had changed.

"Mom and dad asked me and Auggie how we would feel about moving to Philadelphia. But don't worry, I'm not leaving. I told them I couldn't leave you. I could never leave you, Maya. You know, at one point they were sure that you would never leave that hospital. You sure proved them wrong, peaches."

"I've been thinking of studying psychology. My psychiatrist has been a huge help for me during all this ordeal and the way she helped me.. well she's inspired me to help others going through something similar. Mom and dad are helping the best way they can for my dream to succeed. We've been looking at so many colleges and stuff. But I'm not sure where I wanna go yet."

"I've really missed talking to you, Maya. I've missed talking to you privately. At the hospital, there was always someone around, remember? I hate hospitals, I can only imagine you feel the same. Having been cooped up in there for so long. But you finally got away from there and here we are. Enjoying this sunset together."

Riley looked at the sun fading away in the horizon. It was truly a beautiful moment and she shared it with her best friend in the entire world right by her side. Like it's always been.

The sun was colouring the sky with purple and pink and orange. Riley felt the sunshine kiss her cheek and she felt relieved in some way.

Riley looked at the gravestone by her side. Her psychiatrist had been right. Going out here and talk helped. It helped a lot.

Maya's death had eventually come as a surprise for everyone. She had fought hard and strong but in the end she was tired and waited for the approval of her loved ones.

It finally came and Maya travelled on.

But she was never truly gone. She would always be by their side. All of them.

And no one would ever forget the wonder who was called Maya Penelope Hart.

 **The end?**

 **Please review and all the other stuff – see ya soon**


	11. Chapter 11 - epilogue

**Hey guys. So we've reached the end of the story. This will be the last chapter. I want to thank all of you for having been supportive during this story. I hope you'll like this last part of the story – so without any other further ado, I present you – the epilogue.**

"MAYA?! You're here? But how?.. why..? I can't believe it!", Riley almost screamed with enthusiasm.

Her best friend was standing right in front of her. Maya with her long, beautiful blonde hair. Standing with her arms wide open, ready to receive a warm hug from her best friend.

"Yes Riles. I'm here. I've always been right here. You know I'd never leave you.", Maya answered back with a smile.

Riley ran towards her and hugged her best friend dearly.

"But we lost you.. I've lost you.. you were gone..", Riley said, still confused but happier than she's ever been.

"What are you talking about, silly?", Maya pulled away from the hug and stared at her best friend with a concerned look.

"You.. you died… you died, Maya.. I lost you.. I grew up, I got married and had my own family.. but you weren't there.. Maya, I've missed you.", Riley told her best friend.

Maya grinned at her best friend.

"You're silly, you know that, right?", Maya said and continued. "I'm right here, I'm standing in front of you. I've never left you, Riles."

"You really thought that you lost me? Riley, you know that I would never leave this world without you.", Maya said while looking at Riley. "Why don't we go for a walk, huh? To get your mind sorted out?", she asked.

"Okay, yeah you're right. I guess I'm just a little confused..", Riley said and started walking.

The two best friends walked and talked for a long time. The sun was starting to set and everything looked stunning.

Suddenly Riley stopped walking.

"What's wrong, honey?", Maya asked concernedly.

"It's nothing..", Riley said, trying to avoid something.

"Riley, I thought we weren't keeping any secrets from each other. What is it?", Maya looked at Riley, waiting for the reply.

"It's just.. this place.. it looks so peaceful. It's beautiful..", Riley answered.

"I know, honey", Maya replied and smiled at her best friend.

"I'm tired, Maya.. Can we lay down and look at the sunset for a bit?", Riley asked her best friend.

"Of course, Riley. We'll be here for as long as you'd like."

"I never left you, I hope you know that.", Maya said. "I've always been right there, right by your side.", she continued and looked at her best friend.

"I know, peaches. I've always known.", Riley answered.

Riley knew that Maya was speaking the truth. Maya never left. She was always right there, by her side.

The two best friends laid down to rest. The sun coloured everything orange, purple and pink and everything felt at peace.

"Hey, I can hear Farkle and Lucas – they're waiting for us.", Riley said and smiled.

"Well then let's go meet them.", Maya replied.

"Lightning", Maya said and reached out for Riley's hand.

"Thunder", Riley answered and grabbed Maya's hand.

Finally, after all these years, the best friends were reunited. Ready to take on beyond the world.

The end.

 **Hope you loved it – please leave a review – of the chapter and the entire story. I love reading them and they have inspired me so much. I told you from the beginning that this would not be a ship biased story, the focus would be friendship. I really hope you loved it. Until next time – I gør mig glad**

 **Xx Amanda**


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